FEBRUARY 15, 1854

CHETCO RIVER MASSACRE–OREGON

In the fall of 1853, a settler named A.F. Miller & his associates claimed land near the mouth of the Chetco River in Oregon–land already occupied by two Cheti villages, each consisting of about 20 lodges. Prior to Miller’s arrival, the Cheti had a monopoly on ferrying travelers across the river. Miller and other settlers demanded that the Cheti cede the ferry site and hired several experienced Indian fighters from California. Miller’s hired men, accompanied by several Indian allies, set fire to the village on the south bank of the Chetco, shooting the villagers as they fled from their burning lodges. Miller and company murdered more than two dozen men and women in their effort to take over the ferry site. Miller was eventually arrested, but six weeks later a justice of the peace declared him innocent for both lack of evidence and that the evidence proved that he had been justified in his violence. Three years after the massacre, the remnants of the Cheti were forcibly removed to a coastal reservation.

Source: “Report from Joel Palmer, 1854,” The Oregon History Project.  Retrieved 10/16/2022, Report from Joel Palmer, 1854 (oregonhistoryproject.org)

Illustration:  Author unknown, October 1856. Public Domain. Source: "Wild Life in Oregon" by William V. Wells. This version taken from page 14 of "The Rogue River Indian War and its aftermath, 1850-1980" By E. A. Schwartz, Harper's New Monthly Magazine in October,1856.n